In the Robin Hood story, Friar Tuck was supposedly from which Cistercian abbey in Yorkshire?

The band of outlaws known as Robin Hood and his merry men needs little introduction. Their stories have circulated since the 14th century and, in modern times, the tale has often been retold on screen. It is literally the stuff of legend. Some of the principal characters, such as Robin of Locksley and the Sheriff of Nottingham, are provided with a back-story although, as so often with the stuff of legend, the precise details can vary.

The principal version of Friar Tuck’s back-story starts with his time as a monk of Fountains Abbey. Fountains Abbey, one of the largest and wealthiest Cistercian monasteries in England, was founded in 1132. It operated for 407 years until its dissolution by order of Henry VIII. The ruins are well preserved and are to be found about 5 km (3 miles) from Ripon in North Yorkshire.

In some versions Friar Tuck was earlier a monk St Mary's Abbey in York, the scene of several other Robin Hood tales. Either way, Friar Tuck was expelled by his order because of his lack of respect for authority.

Tuck eventually became the chaplain of Robin's band. In Howard Pyle's “The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood”, he was specifically sought out as part of the tale of Alan-a-Dale: Robin needs a priest who will marry Allan to his sweetheart in defiance of the Bishop of Hereford.

The stories of the expelled friar are consistent in this respect: he continued as he had started, a defiant rebel against authority.

The picture is of Furness Abbey in Cumbria.